Performer
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio rank
#606
of 909177 performers
Top 1%
Olivia Colman works on versatility rather than volume, and the catalogue keeps proving that the quieter choice was the correct one.
The essay
Our editors on the work, the patterns and the reason this body of work holds together.
Olivia Colman appears in 34 films in the Nutevio catalogue, and none of them would work the same way without Olivia. Nasrin is the clearest case: a film rated 10.0 by our editors, where the performance carries weight the script only implies.
The recognisable elements are versatility, transformation, quiet performance. Watch two of these films back to back and the method separates from the material — the same instrument, tuned differently for drama, history, comedy. It is a style built on what is withheld as much as what is played.
Working with Jay Roach, Thea Sharrock, Paul King and others, Olivia Colman helped set a standard other performers now audition against. Awards bodies have been slower than the work, which is usually the sign of a career built on choices rather than campaigns.
Nasrin (2020) as Narrator · Jimpa (2026) as Hannah · Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022) as Mama Bear (voice)
Career snapshot
Ranked #606 of 909177 performers tracked in the Nutevio library.
Films in Nutevio
34
2007–2026
Career length
19 yrs
Measured across our catalogue
Academy Awards
—
Unknown
Oscar nominations
—
Unknown
Highest Nutevio score
10.0
Nasrin
Average Nutevio score
6.2
Across catalogue work
Highest IMDb rating
10.0
Nasrin
Most frequent director
Jay Roach
1 film together
Longest collaboration
1×
With Jay Roach
Most common genre
Comedy
19 titles
Average runtime
1h 39m
Across catalogue work
Golden Globe wins
—
Unknown
Nutevio metric
Ten weighted categories, applied identically to everyone we cover.
Nutevio Performer Score
6.8
out of 10
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio metric
Cultural impact and legacy, measured separately from craft — how far the work travelled once it left the cinema.
Nutevio Influence Score
6.6
out of 10
A quieter influence — felt inside the films rather than across the industry.
How far the work travelled past the people who saw it first.
What survives once the release-week conversation has burned off.
Institutional acknowledgement, weighted but never decisive.
Years of chosen, relevant work rather than years merely employed.
Statuettes, read as evidence rather than verdict.
Roles named without needing the film named alongside them.
Directors who wrote parts because this performer existed.
The reading other performers now have to answer.
Actor DNA
A fingerprint derived from the roles themselves — register, range and the kind of film they carry.
The shape of a career
Every performance plotted in time. Hover a point to read the title behind it.
Peak years
Where the scores, the awards and the sheer volume of work agree with each other.
Best decade
2000s
6.8 average MV
The 2000s are where the work and the material meet. Hot Fuzz, I Could Never Be Your Woman — the run our editors reach for first when the argument is about range rather than fame.
Highest average Nutevio score
2000s
6.8
Across 2 catalogue films in this decade, our scores never drop below the level a career is judged on.
Highest average IMDb rating
2000s
6.7
The public agrees most strongly about this stretch — useful context, and occasionally a decade behind our own reading.
Most awarded era
2000s
0 Academy Awards
Statuettes for the films themselves, which is the honest way to read an ensemble career. Hot Fuzz, I Could Never Be Your Woman.
Most productive era
2020s
22 films
The busiest stretch of the catalogue — volume that reads as appetite rather than availability.
Range, mapped
Genres down the side, decades across the top. Warmer cells mean stronger titles.
| Genre | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drama | 5.91 film | 6.77 films | 6.110 films |
| Action | 7.71 film | — | — |
| Thriller | — | 6.02 films | — |
| Comedy | 6.82 films | 6.35 films | 5.912 films |
| Crime | 7.71 film | 6.71 film | 5.91 film |
| Romance | 5.91 film | 6.54 films | 4.74 films |
Chronology
Firsts and peaks
The turning points, in the order they happened.
First film in Nutevio
2007Hot Fuzz
Where our catalogue meets this career, as PC Doris Thatcher.
First Nutevio masterpiece · Highest rated performance · Career peak
2020Nasrin
The first film here to clear 9.0 on our scale — a threshold fewer than one film in ten reaches. 10.0 on the Nutevio scale, the top of the catalogue for this performer. Weighing billing against the film's own quality, this is the point where everything aligned at once.
Most recent film
2026Wicker
The current state of the argument, as Fisherwoman.
Our order
Every performance in the catalogue, ordered by Nutevio Score.
Every title
Filter by genre or decade, and compare any two titles side by side.
34 of 34 films
as Mama Bear (voice)
Directed by Joel Crawford
Directed by Unknown
From the library
Every movie and TV credit stored for this name in the Nutevio catalogue — filter by media, role or sort by rating.
Loading credits…
The defining work
#1
Narrator
Nasrin (2020)
Performance score9.9
The performance the rest of the career is read through. Narrator gives Olivia Colman a structure to work against, and the film hands over its centre of gravity without hesitation.
View movie#2
Hannah
Jimpa (2026)
Performance score8.9
Jimpa asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Hannah is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#3
Mama Bear (voice)
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022)
Performance score8.3
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Mama Bear (voice) is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#4
Anne
The Father (2020)
Performance score8.2
The Father asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Anne is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movieStart here
A guided path through the work, ordered so each film explains the next.
Best entry point
as Narrator
Start here. Nasrin is the clearest statement of what Olivia Colman does — accessible, 91 minutes, and rated 10.0 by our editors. No context required.
Our editors order this path by accessibility first and chronology second. You meet Olivia at the most legible performance, then move forward in time so each film reads as a response to the one before it rather than a repetition of it.
The Father (2020)
A deliberate change of key after Nasrin — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
Letters Live from the Archive: Freemasons’ Hall (2021)
A deliberate change of key after The Father — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022)
A deliberate change of key after Letters Live from the Archive: Freemasons’ Hall — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
Jimpa (2026)
A deliberate change of key after Puss in Boots: The Last Wish — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
Company kept
The directors and performers this career keeps returning to.
Amy Heckerling
Director
1 film together
Notably I Could Never Be Your Woman
Edgar Wright
Director
1 film together
Notably Hot Fuzz
Paddy Considine
Director
1 film together
Notably Tyrannosaur
Roger Michell
Director
1 film together
Notably Hyde Park on Hudson
Dan Mazer
Director
1 film together
Notably I Give It a Year
James Griffiths
Director
1 film together
Notably Cuban Fury
Steven Knight
Director
1 film together
Notably Locke
Kenneth Branagh
Director
1 film together
Notably Murder on the Orient Express
Matt Lipsey
Director
1 film together
Notably Cinderella: A Comic Relief Pantomime for Christmas
Florian Zeller
Director
1 film together
Notably The Father
Maggie Gyllenhaal
Director
1 film together
Notably The Lost Daughter
Will Sharpe
Director
1 film together
Notably The Electrical Life of Louis Wain
Eva Husson
Director
1 film together
Notably Mothering Sunday
Mike Rianda
Director
1 film together
Notably The Mitchells vs. the Machines
Jean-Philippe Vine
Director
1 film together
Notably Ron's Gone Wrong
Sam Mendes
Director
1 film together
Notably Empire of Light
Joel Crawford
Director
1 film together
Notably Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
Brad Baruh
Director
1 film together
Notably Marvel Studios Assembled: The Making of Secret Invasion
Paul King
Director
1 film together
Notably Wonka
Thea Sharrock
Director
1 film together
Notably Wicked Little Letters
Jay Roach
Director
1 film together
Notably The Roses
Behind the camera
Who casts this performer, how often, and what the pairing produces.
Joel Crawford
Director
1 film together · 8.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Puss in Boots: The Last WishFlorian Zeller
Director
1 film together · 8.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The FatherJean-Philippe Vine
Director
1 film together · 7.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Ron's Gone WrongMike Rianda
Director
1 film together · 7.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Mitchells vs. the MachinesEdgar Wright
Director
1 film together · 7.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Hot FuzzPaddy Considine
Director
1 film together · 7.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
TyrannosaurPaul King
Director
1 film together · 7.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
WonkaThea Sharrock
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Wicked Little LettersWill Sharpe
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Electrical Life of Louis WainSteven Knight
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
LockeJay Roach
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The RosesKenneth Branagh
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Murder on the Orient ExpressSam Mendes
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Empire of LightMaggie Gyllenhaal
Director
1 film together · 6.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Lost DaughterMatt Lipsey
Director
1 film together · 6.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Cinderella: A Comic Relief Pantomime for ChristmasJames Griffiths
Director
1 film together · 6.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Cuban FuryAmy Heckerling
Director
1 film together · 5.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
I Could Never Be Your WomanDan Mazer
Director
1 film together · 5.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
I Give It a YearEva Husson
Director
1 film together · 5.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Mothering SundayRoger Michell
Director
1 film together · 5.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Hyde Park on HudsonBrad Baruh
Director
1 film together · 5.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Marvel Studios Assembled: The Making of Secret InvasionSix degrees
Follow the thread outward — director, film, co-star, and the film after that.
Categories of our own
Six editorial categories we apply to every performer we cover.
Most rewatchable
Nasrin
as Narrator
The one that survives a fourth viewing. Nothing in the performance depends on surprise, which is why it keeps paying out.
Most emotional performance
Tyrannosaur
as Hannah
Grief played at conversational volume. The film never asks the audience to cry; the performance simply makes it difficult not to.
Most influential performance
Nasrin
as Narrator
You can hear this reading in other actors' auditions a decade later — the surest measure of influence there is.
Best ensemble performance
The Electrical Life of Louis Wain
as Narrator
Work that makes everyone else in the frame better without ever pulling the camera towards itself.
Career defining performance
Nasrin
as Narrator
If the career had to be argued in a single scene, our editors would pick one from this film and rest the case.
In their films' words
“You can build a whole film around a performer who knows when not to speak. Olivia Colman has known it for a long time.”
Head to head
Put two careers on the same scale and see where the argument actually sits.
Ours alone
Recognitions handed out by this desk, on criteria no awards body uses.
Modern Classic Performer
Awarded
Defining performances delivered inside the last twenty-five years, in films already being taught rather than merely remembered.
Comedy Legend
Awarded
19 catalogue titles in comedy, each one a reference point for the films that followed.
Our desk
Best ending, best opening, best twist and the rest — categories we apply to everyone we cover.
Best ending
Nasrin
as Narrator
The last five minutes reorganise everything before them, and hold up when you already know what's coming.
Best opening
Nasrin
as Narrator
A first sequence that states the rules of the film without explaining a single one of them.
Most emotional
Scrooge: A Christmas Carol
as Ghost of Christmas Past (voice)
The film where the technique steps aside and lets the feeling arrive undefended.
Best twist
Murder on the Orient Express
as Hildegarde Schmidt
A reversal earned by information the film gave you and trusted you to misread.
Best visual achievement
Nasrin
as Narrator
Images that would survive with the sound switched off.
Best action sequence
Hot Fuzz
as PC Doris Thatcher
Geography, stakes and consequence held in the same frame — spectacle you can follow.
Best dialogue
The Favourite
as Queen Anne
Lines written to be spoken, staged so the pauses do half the work.
Most underrated film
Hot Fuzz
as PC Doris Thatcher
The public vote sits below ours on this one, and the direction is the reason for the gap.
If you like this performer
Matt Damon
Built a career in the same territory: adventure and drama
Michael Caine
Built a career in the same territory: adventure and drama
Tom Hanks
Built a career in the same territory: animation and family
Bonnie Hunt
Built a career in the same territory: animation and family
David Krumholtz
Built a career in the same territory: action and adventure
Cillian Murphy
Built a career in the same territory: drama and history
Have your say
Community
Which Olivia Colman performance holds up best?
Our readers argue about this one. Make your case, or read the ranked debate already in progress.
Join the conversation
Reference
Continue exploring
Trending performers
Directors they work with
Collections to read next
